the DARE trial....anyone familiar with it, been in it?

[Drrob81]

the trial is ongoing screening of your blood every 6 months, checking for ctDNA ( cancer tumor DNA)....if it is found you begin a treatment regimen...if not they just continue to screen you for 2 years...any thoughts? In my mind this should be the future of cancer detection as it finds the disease at microscopic levels...not when it has grown to be visible on mammograms....

[awesome4ever]

This trial is for Stage 2 and Stage 3 patients only. It is not recruiting Stage 4 patients. It's geared towards preventing a patient from progressing to the metastatic stage so definitely good for those with earlier stage cancers. Unfortunately it will not benefit those of us on this board who are already metastatic.

Reviewing your previous posts it would appear that you are perhaps not Stage 4 so maybe applicable for you but not for the majority of people here who are already Stage 4.

[Drrob81 in reply to awesome4ever]

Yes, I am stage III - I didn't realize that many here are stage IV -I have been searching for other sites but this one was a response to my search...wishing everyone a great outcome....

[awesome4ever in reply to Drrob81]

No worries. As far as I know almost everyone here is either Stage 4 or a caregiver of someone who is stage 4. There are several other boards on this network devoted to earlier stage breast cancer. I'll link them below if you are interested. Of course you are welcome to continue posting here too but be mindful of the fact that we are all metastatic, technically terminal with no hope of cure at this time. Some of the discussions here are geared towards topics that would be sensitive or triggering to some who are after surgery, radiation plus or minus chemo have been declared 'cured'. Most of us know what our final outcome will be...we are just trying our best to make that time as far away as possible. Good luck to you.

healthunlocked.com/share-br...

healthunlocked.com/breast-c...

p.s. I'm sure any of the ladies that post there would be very happy to learn of this potential trial

[Drrob81 in reply to awesome4ever]

I don't have any words to express my heartfelt gratitude for your answers, your honesty as well as my sincere hope that, with every passing day, new treatments, new options and hence more hope evolves for all women faced with this disease..

[Merma]

in November, after having had a recurrence and treatment in Sept, I submitted a blood sample for my ctDNA test. The report came back as not enough of anything to read. Less than a month later, a PET/CT scan found cancer in my lung nodule - the same kind that I have always had.

My dr’s response was that it’s not ready for practical use. But I think, why not give that clinical trial a try? How can they improve it without more data?

[RedwoodLady]

I found the above posts interesting and helpful. On Friday, I will be at Stanford Hospital in Palo Alto, Ca. for a PET/CT Scan. The Oncologist I saw there in November is concerned because my CA 27.29 Blood Marker has been rising. In addition, I will have a blood draw for a Liquid Biopsy Test. That may be similar to the ctDNA test someone mentioned. I will keep everyone posted.

[RLN-overcomer]

Greetings" Sister/Warrior, and yesss advocate😇. Thank you for this great information. Blood test for tumor markers, which I have yearly shows when the tumors are present only. This is a game changer. Happy 2024 New Year. Again thank you